Madoka's Letter
by Lady Danyrie August
Summary: Madoka wasn't envious of Hitomi's love letters, but still wished that she would one day get her own. When she does receive a letter, it isn't all she thought it would be. How will the letter change her relationship with her friends, and how will it change Madoka herself?
1. A Love Letter? For Me?

**I am very tired writing this. It will probably be trash. Don't sue me. Also, I do not in any way own Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Would be nice though...**

A silence echoes deep in hearts of iron

Strong and still with much resolve

The fleeting moment, e'er desired

Will surely, swiftly lose it's hold

Madoka frowned. What was the peculiar note supposed to mean? Had someone heard her talking to her friends about wanting to receive a love letter? No, it couldn't be. They'd been quite a ways from the other students moving towards the gates, after all. Perhaps Hitomi had felt bad and written a note herself to try to cheer her up? Or Sayak- on second thoughts, this was far too graceful to be Sayaka's writing. Madoka giggled, remembering the manga-esque writing Sayaka had turned in for their last writing assignment.

So then, if it wasn't Sayaka, and it wasn't, it had to be Hitomi, right? Well, nothing for it. She'd just pretend she hadn't figured it out and see how her friends reacted at lunch.

After watching Madoka put the letter back into her bag, another girl turned away with a sad shake of her head.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

"Guys! Look! I got this weird letter in my stuff today, I think that it's meant to be a love letter!"

Hitomi smiled gently at her and for a moment Madoka thought that she had been right, before she opened her mouth and asked her "Do you know who it's from?"

Sayaka, meanwhile, was staring with wide eyes at her pink-haired friend.

Madoka shook her head slowly. "No, I don't know who sent it. There isn't even an initial! I have no idea... Who would ever want to confess to someone like me?"

Her two friends just looked at her, in almost pitying way. It was no secret between them that Madoka had the least self-confidence and indeed the least self-esteem. Perhaps it really was impossible for the girl to imagine someone actually confessing. Instead, she had immediately thought that it was just her friends attempt to cheer her up. Sharing a look, before sighing in unison, the two girls each took one of Madoka's hands from the opposite side of the table. This time it was Sayaka who spoke.

"Madoka, you're really pretty and sweet and you're kind to everyone! Aside from being a little shy, there's nothing to stop a guy from loving you, you know?"

Madoka smiled at her best friends, a little teardrop welling up in each eye. She was always emotional when... well, anything happened. She wore her heart on her sleeve and it was especially obvious when she was with Hitomi and Sayaka.

Meanwhile, a girl watched them talking from the corner booth, eyes not moving even to her food as she slowly ate her cupcake.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

"You need to stop. You hear me?"

The girl found herself feeling frustrated and a little intimidated, her back against the wall and a taller, older girl frowning down at her. Still, she looked her accuser in the eye.

"I need to get to class. Excuse me..."

She made to walk off but the older girl quickly stepped into her path. She held out her arms to either side, to block off any escape past her.

"I don't think so, not until you tell me that you'll stop stalking Kaname. She's a very shy person and if she found out she had a stalker, it would probably frighten her. I won't let you scare the other students. However..."

The girl trailed off, fixing her with a glare before dropping both her eyes and her arms with a sigh.

"... I also can't allow anyone to hurt you, and that's exactly what Miki would do if she found out about your creepy habit. So... for all of your sake's, please stop."

No answer came, and she simply stared at the older girl, who began to tap her foot impatiently.

"... Fine. I won't watch Madoka any more, Tomoe. May I go to class now?"

Tomoe nodded and stepped aside with a shy smile, and watched the hurriedly retreating back of the younger student. She felt bad that she'd left poor Kaname to be followed for so long, but really she'd only caught the transfer student in the act twice, and so hadn't really had proof. She just hoped that the girl would listen to her advice and leave Kaname alone. The poor girl was introspective enough without needing outside scrutiny to make her more uncomfortable.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

"Um, excuse me? You've been sitting at our table for a few minutes... Akemi, is there something the matter? Are you ill? Shall I take you to the nurse?"

The girl in question looked at Madoka. According to Tomoe's order, she had not followed Madoka or watched her since, but today she had decided to hand-deliver a second letter. As such, she had gathered up all of her available courage and sat down at their table, without a word, and sat through the awkward silence that followed. The reactions of her friends were less than comforting to her, and she found her nerve wearing down quickly. She hadn't even managed to reach into her bag to retrieve the second letter, let alone give it to Madoka. Hitomi was watching her carefully but politely, while Miki was staring at her with open suspicion.

"... No, nothing is wrong. H-here... I have something for you." The last of her courage abandoning her, Homura frantically reached into her bag, grabbed the letter and tossed it into Madoka's lap before sprinting from the booth, her cheeks burning.

Miki immediately stood, yelling something at her that she didn't hear.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

"So it was the weird transfer student all along, huh? Creepy..."

"That's not funny Sayaka, you shouldn't make fun of her!"

"Madoka, Sayaka is right. She sent you a _love letter_. She's a _girl_ and so are you! That's just... it's not right!"

Sayaka huffed and Madoka sighed. She'd yet to open the second letter. Hitomi was all for throwing it away, while Sayaka wanted her to open it so she had a reason to beat up the 'weird transfer student'. Madoka herself was curious about the contents of the letter, but was more concerned about Akemi.

"I'm going to read the letter now... maybe it will help clear things up?"

Madoka gingerly pulled the flap of the envelope open, and teased the slip of paper inside of it, out. She read aloud "Pastel on silk, bright as sunshine on dew. A light to make light ashamed and a hope to give despair itself hope. A devil does not deserve a goddess, and yet devil though I am, I yearn for your hand to hold and your smile to see."

Madoka's face went from slightly slack to blushing bright red and stammering nonsense words. Sayaka could have sworn that her head had started steaming.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

Homura sat under one of the trees in the park. This may not be her favourite place to relax, but without Madoka beside her she had no wish to go there. _That _place was meant to be shared.

A soft, sweet voice that she knew all too well called out to her, and she immediately realised she'd fallen asleep under the tree and was now dreaming.

"-mi? Akemi? Come on, you need to wake up! It's going to rain soon!"

She sat up suddenly, feeling stiffness in her neck and back. She groaned and stretched. She really had fallen asleep.

"Oh thank goodness! I thought for you would still be asleep when the rain started!"

Homura's body froze and she turned slowly with growing horror to realise that she _had_ fallen asleep in the park, and she'd heard Madoka's voice from the real world, waking her up. She blushed in embarrassment. Beginning to stammer out an apology, she bowed her head. A hand gently touched her own and she looked up. Madoka was smiling at her.

"It's okay, Akemi, I read your letters and I think that I understand a little bit. I may not be that interesting of a person, but if you want to be friends then I'll be happy to!"

Homura's heart, which had swelled with anticipation and nervousness as Madoka had spoken, suddenly went cold and dead. The word 'friends' echoed around her head over and over, seeming to grow louder until it was a vicious roaring thunderstorm assaulting her senses. Poor, naive Madoka had completely misread her intentions. She gave a loud wail, finally succumbing to the ache in her chest and fell forward across Madoka's knees, sobbing hard.

The girl was shocked. Had she said something wrong? She thought that she had been perfectly polite, thank you very much! Not knowing what else to do, and determined to prove she wanted to be Akemi's friend, she reached to the girl and pulled her into an embrace. Her skirt and now her shoulder were wet with the girls tears as she sobbed hysterically. Her body was shaking against Madoka's and it scared them both. Homura, because of how much Madoka had hurt her and didn't even know it, and Madoka because she didn't understand why her new friend was crying.

Homura's thoughts were racing back and forth between bitter anger and sweet sadness. 'She doesn't love me, she rejects me, but the moment I cry she tries to comfort me, how dare she! But she cares enough to try to make me feel better, even though she's the one that hurt me..." It was a horrible, cyclic logic that only worsened her emotional state with every second.

Neither girl noticed that the heavens had opened, deluging the park and indeed themselves. Madoka began to run one hand gently through Akemi's hair, humming a soft tune. After a while, Homura's sobs became quiet moans and sniffs, and she listened in as Madoka's sweet voice comforted her.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

Watching from a store window just across from the park, Mami Tomoe watched with a heavy heart. She hoped that neither of the girls ended up getting hurt by this...

**I intend to write more of this later. Not sure how that's going to go. No promises on anything. Uh... Homura was a bit out of character, but this will be a no-magic AU so I tried to go for something of a middle ground between the extremes of her personality we see in PMMM. Also, Madoka is frightfully naive. She's naturally a very shy and innocent person and her ideas of romance extend as far as hand holding and hugging. This is mainly why she reacts so much less... logically... to the letters than Sayaka and Hitomi, who are understandably worried about someone who seems to be fixated on their friend, much in the same way Mami was. Also, while they might not always act like it, both Sayaka and Hitomi ARE more mature than Madoka, with more healthy and realistic ideas of love and romance, as well as dangerous behaviours. I'll look to expand more in these ideas in any future chapters. **

**That said, I write this very late at night and with no planning, so don't expect much of it. **

**Bye!**


	2. Obligatory FillerExposition Chapter

**I do not own Puella Magi Madoka Magica. **

**Holy crap, guys, two chapters in two days? Am I insane? Probably. I will be back to my regularly scheduled bull sometime in the near future but for now I need to keep writing this. It calls me.**

**Also yes. There is an OC in this chapter. Deal with it.**

**Enjoy.**

Junko Kaname was very concerned for her daughter. Madoka had come home soaked to the skin, her uniform ruined, and with a sad half-smile firmly fixed onto her face. She had never seen anything as heartbreaking on her precious girl's face all her life and she had immediately pulled the girl into a hug before running to fetch a towel.

She had attempted to question her about what had happened but Madoka had simply teared up and smiled at her, saying that it was fine. She almost scoffed at that, Madoka clearly wasn't fine with whatever had happened, but she decided to let it go for the moment. After Madoka emerged from a long bath she seemed much happier and her smile was back to it's usual brilliance, but her eyes still held weight that no child's should.

That night, Junko made the extra effort to tuck Madoka into bed. As she pulled the covers up over her daughter, she tried to reassure her.

"You don't have to tell me about what happened, sweetheart. Not right now, anyway. I just want you to be happy and it makes me scared and upset when you get hurt. Please, whatever it was... try to be careful and ask for my help if you need me. I will always, always help you. I love you my darling. Good night, and sweet dreams."

A mumbled reply of 'Night Mum' came from the pillow Madoka's head was tucked into. She gently stroked her hair once before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. Waiting outside of Madoka's room was her husband.

"Tomo... I don't know what to do. I feel scared for her, and I feel guilty for not being able to help her! What if she's in trouble? What if she-?"

He reached out, taking her shoulders in his hands and pulling her into an embrace. She cried softly into his shoulder, her worry bubbling over. He stroked her back and shoulder softly, and gradually the soft motions calmed her down enough to talk again.

"Honey, I know it's hard. I'm worried about her too. Especially after what the Miki's said about their daughter, I'm honestly worried that Madoka won't properly grow up for a long time and won't learn how to make mistakes until it's too late."

"But she's ju-"

He raised a hand with a gentle smile.

"Please. Maybe, as much as it will make us worry, I think it might be best if we let her keep going. We'll keep a careful watch on her of course, but if she gets hurt then we can help her and if she doesn't then we won't have to worry, will we? I promise I won't let her get hurt more than she has to, but she does need to learn how to handle when she does something wrong, even by accident."

Junko looked at him shocked for a moment. He obviously didn't want either of them hurt, and his logic made sense, but why would he just let Madoka get hurt without warning her? She already felt helpless enough and she was grasping at straws.

"Surely we can talk to her, warn her, right? There's no reason we can't do that!"

He shook his head.

"I'm afraid that warning might not help at all. She'd think we were trying to take away something from her, and then when she actually needed help, she would go to her friends or teachers, and not us. All we need to do is be there. All the time, whenever and wherever. Maybe it's time to get her a phone? That way she can stay in contact with us and her friends without having to run around all the time."

Junko shot him a filthy look but then sighed and conceded the point. "Alright, fine, you're right. Since when were you this wise and sensible anyway, huh?" A playful smack on his arm accompanied her comment.

"Oh, I'm not wise dear, I'm just reading your mind and telling it back to you because you're too emotional right now to think logically."

She raised an eyebrow and he flinched. 'Maybe not your smoothest delivery ever there, Tomohisa' he scolded himself.

Even though he'd managed to put off her fears for now, she still slept restlessly, thoughts of Madoka in terrible places and having terrible things done to her plaguing her nightmares.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

Homura walked into her apartment soaked and upset. Her letter that had meant to be a confession had turned out to be a complete waste of time and effort. Madoka hadn't even understood the purpose of it! Hearing her talking about being friends had been the last straw and now that she was no longer crying and _she_ wasn't around, she was quite annoyed. Really, was it that hard to understand what she had meant? Surprisingly hurtful and insulting thoughts about Madoka's intelligence briefly flashed through her mind before she stamped on them hard. It didn't matter. Maybe being Madoka's friend was a good start anyway? She could use this chance to get close to her, then prove to her what she meant.

For a while after that, she schemed, muttering and pacing around her apartment. Suddenly realising that she was still wet and cold, she decided to take a shower. As the hot water pounding on her head relaxed her, she stopped scheming and for a moment felt empty. Madoka didn't want her that way, and it would be _so much work_ to earn her affections. It was pointless, right? Madoka clearly didn't have any concept of love between two females. It would never work...

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

Sleep that night was restless for both of the girls, as they both imagined that they were the one at fault. Homura would wake up the next morning accepting of the fact that she would only be Madoka's friend, but guilty that she had put so much pressure on Madoka, and the girl in question upset that she had hurt someone without meaning to and determined to make it right.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

Mami got to school early the next morning. It wasn't often that she would do so, despite being awake with the rising of the sun. Today however she needed to talk to Miss Shurui. The school councilor would know how to handle this situation.

She knocked once, quietly, on the door to her office. "Come in!" called the exasperated voice of the middle-aged woman. She'd probably misplaced some paperwork or something similar.

She opened the door and stepped inside, greeted by a frazzled and sleep deprived woman who was currently pulling at her hair in frustration. The woman seemed not to register Mami's presence for a few seconds before standing bolt upright.

"Tomoe? What can I do for you? For that matter, why are you here this early?"

The woman seemed to have forgotten her own tiredness momentarily.

"Perhaps we'd best sit down? I'm worried about some younger students and I'm not sure what to do."

Nodding to her, Miss Shurui sat slowly, following Mami's example. Mami intertwined her fingers with themselves in her lap delicately and looked down, unsure how to begin.

"It's about Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi."

The councilor nodded. "Go on."

"Akemi is... obsessed, I think, with Kaname. She lives alone and I think she is fixating on Kaname for some reason, maybe to cope with her loneliness?"

A short nod and a frown were the only response she got for a moment. "It's possible, of course, though from what I've seen of Akemi she's not actually that lonely. Just... introverted. And I've known Kaname for years, in fact, her homeroom teacher and I are both long time friends of her mother. It's entirely possible that if Madoka hadn't met Sayaka Miki, she would have ended up much the same as Akemi is now."

That revelation shocked Mami quite severely. She'd known that Madoka was shy, but to think she could have been similar to Homura... the thought was disturbing. She didn't enjoy imagining the bubbly, bright girl acting sullen and depressed and being alone.

"I'll speak to young Akemi and see if I can't work out what's wrong. If nothing else, I can pass on concerns to the other teachers as long as she doesn't reveal anything too personal."

"Thank you, Miss Shurui! There, um, there was one other thing."

The soft expression on the councilor's face dropped into another frown. "Yes?"

"Yesterday, Madoka was talking to Akemi in the park. I didn't hear what they said, but Akemi started crying and Madoka hugged her. They didn't move even when it started pouring down rain! I was so worried but I couldn't just leave work to go check on them."

"I see. I suppose this just makes it more urgent I speak to the pair of them."

A raised eyebrow was the only outward sign of a reaction to Mami's statement. Perhaps she was being overly dramatic and worrying too much, if the councilor didn't respond too poorly to that news. She stood, smoothing out the front of her skirt and bowing to the woman.

"Thank you for taking some time to speak with me. I'll go and study for a while now, if you don't mind."

Miss Shurui waved her off. "Of course, go on. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

It arrived in the middle of homeroom. A little pink slip, with the word 'councilor's office' printed in black on one side. Madoka flipped it over and saw an appointment time written on it. It was scheduled for right after lunch.

Frowning, Madoka turned to look at Hitomi, who shrugged. So she hadn't requested the appointment, and her friends hadn't either. Sayaka definitely wasn't the type to go to the teachers, after all. She wondered just who could have asked for the appointment. And why.

As absorbed in her thoughts as she was, Madoka didn't notice Homura also receiving a similar pink slip. Hitomi, however, did. She was worried that someone had seen them at lunch and had told the teachers on them. Although she couldn't think of anyone would do such a thing even if they had. There was something of an unspoken consensus to ignore Akemi at all costs. She was such a weirdo, even liking girls apparently! It just wasn't right!

"I guess you'll just have to go and find out, Madoka. Good luck!" Of course, her words didn't exactly comfort her friend.

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

"Come in, Madoka, the door's unlocked."

Madoka stepped into the room, and gently shut the door behind her. Her mum's friend was almost twice as tall as she was, an uncommonly tall woman, and not particularly attractive, but Madoka felt at ease around her. She was kind and funny.

"Hello Miss Shurui, how are you today?"

The woman threw her feet up onto her desk and gestured carelessly at the couch on one side of the room.

"It's Aunty Itsuka to you, Madoka. You've known me since you were a kid, after all. Now I'm fine, but we're not here to talk about me. I received a little bit of information from another student and I need to talk to you about it, ok? Don't worry, you're not in trouble."

Madoka looked confused, but nodded. "Ok... What's the matter?"

She leaned forward from her chair without removing her feet from the desk; Madoka noted that the pose looked quite uncomfortable.

"What do you think of Akemi?"

A surprised gasp was drawn from Madoka's lips. "Oh no, did I hurt her more than I thought? Oh, I feel terrible enough already, I hope she is ok!"

Itsuka's eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into her hairline and her mouth dropped open in shock. Madoka, _god damn Madoka, _had hurt someone? It was such an unthinkable thing that she was half tempted to burst into maniacal laughter at the thought.

However given what Mami had said about the Madoka and Akemi in the park...

"Do you think you could tell me why you think you hurt Akemi, dear?"

Madoka quickly reached into her bag and pulled out two pieces of paper. "Oh, Homura gave me these letters. I don't really understand them, but I thought she wanted to be my friend. I found her asleep under a tree in the park, and it was going to rain, so I woke her up! But then she started crying, and I don't know why!"

"May... May I see those letters, Madoka?"

This was bad. If Akemi really was fixating then those letters could only be...

She swung her feet down and lay the pieces of paper out on her desk. Together, they were so personal and intimately written that she felt herself, a forty-something woman, blushing. Madoka... had she even understood the intent behind these letters? This was really, _really _not good... if she had to give Madoka any version of the dreaded Talk before signing it off with Junko she'd be voted out of the bar for a month. She _needed _that alcohol, it was an important therapeutic treatment! Ahem...

"Madoka, do you understand what these letters are saying?"

Madoka smiled dazzlingly at her, and nodded. "Homura wants to be my friend right? That's what it means!"

The sound of flesh and bone smacking hard against wood echoed around the room. Madoka immediately leapt to her feet.

"Aunty Itsuka, are you ok? What's the matter?"

She received nothing but a groan as Itsuka sat upright again.

"Madoka, I want you to go home and show those letters to your mother and tell her what you told me. I'll write her a note too. Make sure she reads my note _before _you tell her, ok?"

Madoka was once again confused and queried. "Why's that? Did I do something wrong?"

Itsuka groaned again. "Look... please, just do it, Madoka. I promise you aren't going to be in trouble" Then she turned her head and muttered under her breath "Or it'll be Junko out of the bar..."

Five minutes later, Madoka skipped away to her next class with a note for her mother and an extra one to excuse her lateness. Picking up her mobile from the desk, she raised it to her ear after dialing Junko's private work mobile.

"Hello? Yes, Junko, it's me. Listen, when Madoka gets home..."

_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_

**Well boy howdy that was interesting! I didn't quite get everything I wanted out in this chapter but I tried to develop a little more of some of the other characters that will be a part of this going forward. Itsuka Shurui is entirely my OC and nothing to do with anything, and yes there is absolutely a plot justified reason I didn't use the homeroom teacher. You'll see. Surprise surprise, the main characters didn't even interact this chapter! Again, intentional, I promise. **

**Bye!**


End file.
